"A Blast From the Past" Part Four AD 1989, that is 2364 Galactic Year [Doctor Depraved] "Hmm..." muttered Dr. Depraved, "maybe we could blast a hole in the ceiling to remove it? Does anyone have a laser or something?" "Maybe we could disassemble it, "said Nomad. [Nomad of Norad] [Nomad said,] "No, on second thought, that might destroy it." He looked at the transmutor and back at the entrance. "I think we can turn it on its side and carry it out top first..." Captain R/C was looking up at the ceiling. "Hey, look at this!" Everyone looked towards R/C and then up at the cieling. "Look at what?" said Spidey. Cappy pointed to seams in the ceiling that separated the dome into big triangles. "Do you suppose the ceiling opens up?" "Looks like it," said Nomad. He brought his scanner out to confirm it. "Where are the controls for it?" asked Dr Depraved. "Probably by the door," suggested Verilox. [Doctor Depraved] SO! Depraved, being the only truly intelligent one there, hit the button marked open...and slowly, majesticly, the great doors slid open. But sadly, before anyone could to anything... [Nomad of Norad] ....they got buried in the dirt that had been covering the dome! They soon dug themselves out, spitting the dirt out of their mouths, and dusting themselves off. "Well," said Nomad, looking up at the opened sections of the dome, "THAT was in interesting experience!" [Captain R/C] Now, there was a crowd of dirty people sitting under a big hole. "At least it's not raining!" said Depraved cryptically. "But now what are we going to do? Fly out?" asked R/C "No, wait! Look at those passages on the side! One... two... three... There are eight of them! Maybe one leads out!" said Nomad. "Oh yeah!" said R/C. "Why didn't we see them before?" "The opening in the cave lets in a lot of sunlight. I also bet you didn't even notice the inscription on the walls," said Verilox. "To find the direction you must go, solve this puzzle, or die from the Terrible Foe. O T T F F S S __ " "The Terrible Foe? That doesn't sound at all nice!" said R/C. Nomad thought... "What, I guess we fill in the blank!" "Ah, yes..." said Verilox. "The Ancients loved number puzzles. I wonder why this one is alphabetical." [The Flip] [Title: R/C... ] ...that is an easy puzzle. But, since I don't feel like writing a story entry, I won't say what the answer is... Aww, what the heck...! "Hmmmm, I wondEr what thE answEr is," wondErEd DEpravEd. "Gosh, this puzzlE is just so confusing," commEntEd R/C. "YEah, I wish Walstra thE puzzlE-solvEr/chEatEr was hEr to hElp us," sighEd Nomad. (I hope the hints weren't THAT obvious!) [Nomad of Norad] "Why do we have to solve this puzzle?" asked Dr Depraved. "Can't we just lift the transmutor out with anti-gravs or something" "It's firmly secured at the base," said Nomad, "I noticed that before the sky fell in. I imagine we have to find the release mechanism down one of those corridors." [Dakimh The Enchanter] "But that would cause our terrible foe to begin attacking us!" said The Flip. `And besides, that would defeat the purpose of this little story with solving the puzzle, wouldn't it?' reflected R/c, so he told everyone just that. "And besides, that would defeat the purpose of this little story with solving the puzzle, wouldn't it?" [Nomad of Norad] "No," said Nomad, "it would make things worse for us. Caldon would get the transmutor if we don't! We can't afford to let him get it!" [Doctor Depraved] "BUT!" cried Depraved. "If we go after the mechanism... we'll get the &%$! blown outta us by defense droids! I say we blow it from its base with plastique! [Nomad of Norad] "Defense droids?" said Nomad. "What defense droids?" "Look here," said Dr D. He pointed to places just within the tunnels. There were rectangular footprints in the dust, and the tracks produced by so-called caterpiller treads like those on tanks and certain kinds of robots. "Ok," said Nomad. "So there are robots here. They aren't necessarily attack robots. They could be maintanance robots. Come to think of it, this puzzle is in English. MODERN English! Not Voontokki! I imagine the robots must have put this up long after this place was built." "Even so," said Verilox, "we should be cautious of these robots." "Well," said Beelzy, "let's get this puzzle solved." "Yeah," said Nomad. "What would you say was the answer?" "Uh," said Beelzy, "'E' I would say." "So would I," said Dr Depraved. "Yes," said Verilox, "I'd say it was obvious. Especially after that earlier message with all the E's capitalized." "Ok," said Nomad, "'E' it is!" They all stood a moment before the puzzle. "So," ventured The Flip, "how do we ANSWER the puzzle?" More time passed. "Draw an `E' in the blank with one's finger?" suggested Nomad. He reached up and did so. No results. More time passed. "Anyone have anything `E' shaped?" asked Dr Depraved. Nobody did. "Say," said Captain R/C, "maybe it means the... fifth tunnel?" "Yes," said Nomad, "but fifth tunnel from the left or from the right?" "Hmmmmm... you know," said Spidey, "this puzzle looks... funny." "Funny?" said Dr Depraved. "Yeah," said Spidey, "I can't quite put my finger on it... but something about it bothers me." Nomad stepped before the puzzle and looked at the structure closely for a moment. "Hmmmm, maybe it is because the tint of the metal of the puzzle panel is slightly different from that of the column that holds it up. Ummmmm...." He pulled out his scanner. "Aha! This panel has been mounted to cover something else!" They carefully removed the panel, behind it was a featureless dark plastic-like surface. Nomad, standing closest to it, reached out to touch it. Suddenly his head was struck by bright light, and he stood as still as stone, staring blankly at the dark panel. As suddenly as it appeared, the light left, and Nomad fell to the floor. The panel then displayed a diagram of the chamber as seen from above, showing the tunnels. Mathematical formulae appeared around it, in Arabic numerals. (Btw: Arabic numerals are what WE use!) [Nomad of Norad] They studied the equations. It took awhile, but they figured them out. Meanwhile, Nomad lay on the floor, contemplating the insides of his eyelids. About the time they solved the equations, Nomad awakened. "OooOOOoooOOoooooohhh...." moaned Nomad. "What hit me?" "It was a mind-probe beam," said Verilox. "Are you ok?" "Fine," said Nomad, groggily. "It might have caused some memory loss," stated Verilox, "what is your name?" "Uh..." thought Nomad. He smiled slightly. "Kirrok," he said. "Uh oh!" said Dr Depraved. "Kirrok? Are you sure?" asked Verilox. "Yes, bow down to me. I am the great god Kirrok!" said Nomad. Everyone backed off a step. Suddenly Nomad smiled wide and then laughed. "Come on, haven't you ever watched Star Trek?" "Uh..." said Dr D. "You know," said Nomad, "the episode where Kirk gets clobbered by a memory beam out of phase, and it gives him amnesia. Due to events in the episode, he comes to think he's a god named Kirrok." "You had us going there for a second," said Spidey. "Well," said Cappy, "he has his sense of humor, still. That's a good sign." "What happened?" Nomad indicated the puzzle panel. "Well," said Verilox. "It gave us equations. We solved them and apparently they point to a particular spot down a particular tunnel." "Good," said Nomad, getting up. "Which tunnel." "Third from the left," said Verilox. They all went down the corridor, carefully and warily. "Here's the spot," said Verilox. He turned to a spot on the wall and pulled a tile loose. There was a slide control. "Look out!" yelled T4D. "Robot coming!" He was pointing down the tunnel. A tractor-tread type robot was rushing their way, looking menacing. Verilox raised his Staff and suddenly the robot was enclosed in a small force dome. "There was a robot like that on Caldon's ship!" said Daggoth. "So, looks like Caldon sent them down here to set up the false puzzle," said Spidey. "Send us down the wrong tunnel. When we got ourselves killed that way, Caldon would come down here and take the transmutor after we solved the earlier puzzles. Devious!" Verilox pulled the slide switch. "More robots!" yelled The Flip. They were at the other end of the tunnel, blocking the way! Verilox sent them flying with his Staff. "Come on!" said Verilox. They all ran down the tunnel and back to the big room. A quick glance under the transmutor revealed that the clamps holding it down had been released. Nomad removed his communicator and flipped it open. "Ok Pla'anuk, tractor-beam the transmutor out then beam us aboard!" [Koala Bear] [Title: Captain Koala's Personal log.... ] [ (This segment, and those following, were moved here in post production.) ] log entry number 154517 [computer verified]. Several days have passed since the de-aging of me and my crew, and it is vertually business as usual. The crew is adjusting very well to childhood--or more specificly being child- sized--as am I. Yet we still have a great deal to overcome. Presently the "Blue Kangaroo," our ship's lounge, has been temporarily closed by order of the head medical officer, due to the large quantity of alcoholic beverages there. Also no-one can get such subtances from the despenser either, Dr. Dove has already made sure of that. But, more important that this is the reprogramming of all of the control, power, security, and other consoles to accept smaller life forms (which we are at present). By doing this it will eliminate the need for our crewmembers having to continually stand in their chairs to reach the upper controls. All control could be handled from the lower part of the consoles. However, this reprogramming must be done by speciallists, so I am planning to head to the nearest starbase for this mod- ification. Then maybe we can concentrate on finding a cure for whatever has happened to us. The complication, of course, is our enemy Caldon is holding a stationary position just at the fringes of our scanners. I am sure he will not miss the second time, so we must proceed with extreme caution. Meanwhile, the ship's psychologists are requesting scheduling changes for the entire crew. This change in the schedule would include longer and more frequent times of leisure. I cannot say that such changes are not welcome. Personally, I am greatly enjoying being a child again. The best of two worlds: Children have a magical life filled with toys, imagination, and freedom, while Adults have the priviledge of knowledge, strength, cunning, dexterity, and experience. We have been given a gift in my opinion. We have the advantage of physically youthful bodies combined with our previous knowledge. I wonder if the others feel the same way. Do I pursue a cure, or do I accept our predicament gracefully? I wonder what the other crew members are thinking....... End Log Entry. [Nomad of Norad] [Added in post-production] In his lab at his house, Nomad stared at the transmutor. It had been days since he had brought it here, and things had rather settled down. From the fragmentary information they had been able to salvage from the underground chamber, he still couldn't figure out what purpose the machine was to serve. It was apparently supposed to be part of a larger device. It seemed, though, as if the function for which the transmutor had been left for the people of Earth had little to do with the function Caldon wanted it for. It rather reminded him, though, of something he and his father had once done in his childhood. It had been well before he had come over into this other Timeline, which, in turn, had come after his making the remarkable discovery that he had been born here! Anyway, they had needed one of those battery-harness thingies that go inside electronic devices, so they could complete some little project of theirs. They had gone down to a Goodwill store looking for some battery powered device to canibalize the part out of. They found a very nice mechanical dog, and bought that. It was one of those things that would sit there, raise up on its front legs or some such, and "bark," and wag its mechanical tail. It was in perfect condition, but they tore it apart for the battery pack, cut it open with a pocket knife. Gutted it. He couldn't remember what the project had been, but it seemed to him now that it ultimately hadn't worked. And as it turns out, they could have simply gone to Radio Shack and bought such a battery pack right off the shelf! It was something that had bothered him when they did it, and even years later it still rather bothered him. What irreplacable thing was Caldon proverbially gutting to complete his acursed project? And was his project even realistic? Thinking about it, Nomad started to get royally steamed. [Koala Bear] [Title: hhhhhhhHHHHHHHHeeeeeelllllpppppp ] "Can anyone ** hear mee???*** Oh Sheep! there seems to be a problem with my communications console... Can Anyone hear me? This is Captain Koala of the United Varamel Ship DROMANA SORRENTO, Calling Comhex... Calling Joshua... Calling Anybody!!!!!!!!???????? Oh Sheep!...." And so our brave friend Captain Koala was stuck with a broken comm channel. Is his ship breaking apart or has Caldon again zapped our hero????? And why is he still calling the Hex at 300 baud?!!!!! Was the lightning natural or did Caldon CAUSE THIS DISASTER!!!!!!!!!??????????? STAY TUNED! [Nomad of Norad] Little Koala Bear crawled out of his wrecked shuttlecraft again and looked upwards within the box canyon he had landed in. There was no way he could see to climb out, no good handholds. He had come down from his ship, trying to find someone to help reverse the Past Blaster's effect on himself and his crew. He had figured that The Fourth Doctor could either help him, or at least lead him to someone who could. Then K-Bear's shuttle had been struck by lightning, over a dense forest. The drive systems failed and the shuttle suddenly was an unpowered glider. There were no clearings or other places to even attempt a landing. Then suddenly there was thisbox anyon. Now he returned to his shuttle and tried again with the comm systems. * * * [The Insomniac] And ZAP! "Where am I ?" the Insomniac questioned verbally. "How did I get here? And why am I speaking aloud?" The Insomniac remembered nothing, having been gone so long. An eerie echo of his words came back, but strangely delayed. For some reason, he looked up... nothing much to see there, just kind of.... `up'. The ground felt spongy, as if he was standing there on a vast mire. He felt enclosed. His eyes couldn't quite adjust to the light. He wasn't in a cage or a trap... just kind of teleported, but not really. "WHAT did I wake up from... I just can't recall." He popped a mint in his mouth. "This tastes funny. Where did I get this? I don't remember picking up any mints." He felt as if he would be enlightened soon.... * * * * * * * [Koala Bear] [Title: meanwhile...at the box canyon... ] "Oh sheep!"cursed captain Koala. Just at the same instant, as if called, Koala heard sheep's bleating in the distance. Koala thought on that a while and decided that, no, his cursing had not come to life (as he feared that someday it would), and that investigation was in order. At least it couldn't hurt to investigate. Maybe a shepherd would be tending his sheep, and maybe that person would help him... at least share food and shelter with him. As Captain Koala thought on these things, he packed what little emergency provisions were stored in the shuttlepod, and trotted briskly toward the bleating sounds. His impromptu journey lasted for many hours, finally, shortly before nightfall, he reached his destination, and flopped among the herd from sheer exhaustion. It was times like these which made Koala thankful he had fur, instead of bare skin, because the night was chilly. Before settling down to sleep, Koala dry-swallowed some special pills to keep parasites away from his lush, very thick fur. But that would not keep away the burrs and grass from being entangled. Koala sighed to himself at the thought of tangled fur. * * * * [Koala Bear] In the morning Koala got up, and brushed his fur as much as he could with his hand and began to search for the shepherd. Soon he found the shepherd. He was humanoid, closer to a human than anything else, so Koala hid behind a nearby bush and greeted the shepherd as meekly as Koala could muster. "Good greetings to you shepherd..." The shepherd whirled around to see who was speaking. "Who's dar?" asked the shepherd quite anxiously.. "I am Dee Tee (D.T.), Captain of the United Varamel ship DROMANO SORRENTO. I come in peace, I need your help..." "May bee I'd be moore willen ifn I's can seed ya." "I will come out of hiding after you answer one question" "An that bee?"mumbled the shepherd in his unusual dialect. "Have you ever had contact with race/species other than what you are?" "Jeds." [yes.] "Prepare yourself to see me, I am coming out of hiding. I am coming out from the bush." D.T. slowly walked around the bush and was soon standing in plain veiw of the shepard. The shepherd raised his eyebrows. "Dgyor a koala!" "So I've been told. On a special mission, my space craft crash landed in a canyon. I need food and shelter until I can repair the commlink." "I'll do, for a price.." "A price? What do you want?" "I want......." The shepherd proceeded to tell Koala his desires. What the shepherd wanted was 20000gc in return for his hospitality. Koala agreed, he had no choice. That night Koala slept on an old cot in the living room--no sheet,no pillow, while the shepherd slept in his own room on a lambs wool bed, plush with many pillows. As the shepherd lay there in comfort, he began to think: `In my living room, I have a largish-sized koala, by my side is a gun. Koala pelts sell for at least 22000gcs on the black market, and for such a large one I could easily get 30-45000gcs for it... hmmmmmmm...' The shepherd continued thinking. Soon it was extremely dark, not even the stars shone. So the shepherd got up, loaded his gun, and started for the living room.... * * * * * * * [The Flip] [Title: Editor's Note: ] (What is a "gc"? Graham Crackers?) (Ohhhhh, Gold Crowns...gawrsh.) [Nomad of Norad] [ (a post-production comment) ] (Actually, no. He meant Galactic Credits.) [Koala Bear] [Title: Picking up the Koala tale again... ] It was still pitch black; Captain Koala was just about to doze off when he heard the "chunk-click" of a firearm five feet away from him in the direction of the shepherd's room. Instinctively, the human side of Koala made him roll off the cot. An instant later, the gun fired with a violent loudness. Koala lay motionless hardly daring to breathe, as the footsteps neared. `D@mn sheep herder!' hissed Koala mentally. Quickly though, he changed his thoughts, his very life would depend on his next actions. `Where's that door?' K-Bear thought. He tried to remember, to picture what the room looked like; but it was very difficult because his mind was still dull from sleep. `Common DT, common. Think, think fast,' Koala commanded himself mentally as the footsteps neared the cot. `Ah yes,' thought koala. `It's over there. A chair and a planter are between me and the door..' The footsteps stopped, they were at the cot. "Dad-burnet!" shouted the shepherd. "I mustuv shyett 'm offn the cout." Captain Koala rolled twice and was under the cot just as the shepherd reached the other side. The shepherd began to carefully grope around. K-Bear could see better now, and his mind was now clear. From other the cot Koala peered into the darkness and saw that on this side of the room was a couch and a table which were in the front of the a large glass window. As he looked about, he remembered that the door was locked; that left only one exit. Captain Koala quickly reviewed his training, and when he was sure, he started to move, then stopped. He remembered that he was child-sized. `Oh sheep!' he said mentally. Then he recalculated his moves. `Okey,' he thought, `more speed, more bounce...hmmmmm...' Now sure of what he would do, and how he was going to do it, he set into motion his plans. [Koala Bear] [Title: More Koala story... ] K-Bear rolled twice and was well clear of the cot, he slowly stood up, backed up a few steps, and dashed toward the window. With great skill he jumped on the couch and catapulted himself in a tucked roll through the window -- CRASH -- and expertly landed on the smooth sides of the shattered glass. Immediantly the shepherd shot at the noise, taking a nice chunk out of his couch. However Koala sprinted away without a moments pause. The shepherd cursed and started to run after K-Bear, but the locked door proved to be the shepherd's undoing, as he had to unlock the door. Split seconds later Koala heard the shooting, cursing, and the heavy footsteps of the shepherd. Koala ducked, only to be harmlessly sprayed with wood chips from a nearby tree, as the bullets shattered the bark. Koala ran has hard as he could. Soon the angry sounds of the shepherd grew fainter and fainter, and after a while were no longer heard. K-Bear slowed to a trot and continued to his ship. Koala felt full of life, and hardly tired. He twitched his ears in relief and began to purr contentedly (yes, koalas do purr -Ed) as he entered the shuttlecraft. He was safe for the time being. It was in the wee hours of the morning before Koala fell into an uneasy sleep, and many times he awoke with a start, only to find he had had another nightmare. Finally, the morning came, and with it Captain Koala wearily arose. Today was the first full day K-Bear had to evaluate the extent of damage. He knew that the shepherd wouldn't help him... Koala shuddered at the mere thought of him..., and no-one seemed to be within 1000 miles of him. Loneliness overwhelmed him and he thought of his ship and crew orbiting high above -- How he missed them. His mind then wandered to the memory of Caldon's time warp weapon, and how they barely escaped but had been turned into children -- or at least child sized. All this happening to him in only a few days. [Koala Bear] [Title: Still more... ] Koala wanted badly to cry, but knew he was a hardened ship's captain; then he looked in the mirror, but what looked back wasn't a hardened ship's captain, but a small, scared, and frustrated child. After a good cry, Captain Deavin, felt better, almost happy. `Now on to duty,' thought K-Bear. He washed, dried, and combed his face and hands, then went outside. There he carefully examined the shuttlecraft top to bottom, front to back, under and over. Then from what he found he compiled a damage report for his monolog entry: "Captain's monolog, ship's entry. While returning to the planet surface to find someone who could help me reverse the effects of Caldons's time-warp weapon, a storm engulfed me unusually fast, and lightning knocked out my drive systems, forcing me to make an unpowered `crash landing'...(miscellaneous text omitted)... After examining the shuttle thoroughly I have found several systems damaged. Firstly, my transmitter was hit, and now is inoperative. Secondly, part of the trasmitter housing broke loose and damaged the power systems. Other than this, I can find no other damage, I will be affecting repairs immediately. End of Entry." As Koala finished his entry, he couldn't help wonder if Caldon had something to do with the storm too. Koala began to pace, thinking intently on his problems of communication and power failures. He tried to remember all that was learned during his training. As he paced he began to think of other systems and components which could be connected to meet his requirements. After several minutes, Koala began to see what needed to be done, which circuits, which jumpers and where each went. Soon he began to disassemble various circuits. K-Bear worked intently, so that hours seemed like minutes so that by the end of the day Koala had a solar powered transmitter capable of hypotheticly transmitting a strong signal over a 200 mile radius. Tomorrow he'd activate it. [Koala Bear] [Title: And more... ] In the meantime, although it was dark, Koala planned to begin to fix the energy lines. He used a flare to provide light -- who knows someone might see him hopefully, though, not the shepherd. At that thought he doused the flare. "Tomorrow will be soon enough," Koala said aloud to himself. With a sigh K-Bear began to plan out how he would fix the energy line. As he thought he realized there were a small collection of some repair compounds. As Koala looked he became very exited for he saw the exact compound he needed. So, being that the repair mixture had to set overnight, Koala took and mixed the compounds from the tubes as instructed for his particular need. Then he replaced the repair kit and continued exact planning of the energy line's repair. It was beginning to get late when K-Bear had figured exactly how he was going to affect repairs, so he went to bed. [The Insomniac] [Title: Where is the Insomniac ....? ] Bam! Bam, Bam, Bam ! "Dangit!" ThInsMc exclaimed. He screamed and turned the knob. He realized that he was in a closet. The door is locked and there is something up against the door. "Where have I been?" he bellowed. No trace of alcohol, "I wasn't drunk" he concluded. Searching the closet in the dark for a light switch, he realized that this was a cheap closet. He found some sort of Bowling Ball or Helmet or something else round and hard, he just couldn't figure it out. He bashed the door and walls loudly, but to no avail. Accidently hitting a lightswitch, he exclaimed "A-ha!" And then the light bulb burned out. "Dang!" The Inso. heard a laughing, a chuckling. No, not that, it turned to a screeching sound. It was a cat. Then another. Uh oh... A peircing screech deafened him. A cat fight! He picked up the bowling ball. No, he now realized, is it a cannon ball? It was too heavy for the shot put. A final screech stopped his train of thought. Then a scurrying sound, and chewing. "Rats!" he exclaimed. "Exactly," he concludes. "That means no roaches, but there may be fleas. . <------ there's one now! The Insomniac was from Florida, so quickly grabbed at the acute pain he just now realized. Between the fingers it was rubbed, then the crack of the insect between his fingernails. "Heh, heh, heh..." he laughed, knowing that he was the only one on the block that could do that, due to his guitar fingerenails. He felt a bit awkward writing about himself... [Nomad of Norad] He raised the big round thing and tried to bash the door open with it. He missed, and dropped the thing on his toes. "OOOOOWWW!!!! D@MN IT!!!!" he yelled, and then tripped and FELL into the door, and it gave way! He picked himself up off the floor, blinking at the light that so suddenly was in his eyes. He was in a large room. There were shelves everywhere, full of books, scrolls, and other printed matter. There were no windows, but a single large door was at the far side of the room. The room was lighted by a large flourescent lamp. Insomniak went to the door and tried to open it. Locked and bolted from the other side. He considered using the canonball to bash it open, but he saw that the door was solid oak, and rather thick it would seem. He looked for something else to bash the door open with. [Nomad of Norad] Nomad stood looking at a computer-display at his home. It showed a diagram of a device that, when tied into the defense-screens of a starship, would reverse or dampen-out the effects of Caldon's so-called past-blaster. A defector had showed up and given them the plans. It had been decided to install it aboard Koala Bear's starship. Unfortunately, Koala Bear had left his ship in a shuttle craft before word could get to him, and then something happened to him on his way down. The RED 417 was now out searching for him, as soon as he was found they would all head up to his starship and be ready to deal with Caldon. "Nomad?" said Joshua. "There is a voice message coming in. I am putting it on audio." "Hello?" said the voice of The Flip. "Yes?" said Nomad. "What is it?" "Uh..." began Flip. "The Insomniak has disappeared." "Disappeared?" said Nomad. "Explain." "He suddenly vanished a little while ago. Very powerful teleport beam." "Did you get a fix on where it went?" asked Nomad. "Not really," said Flip, "we did determine it came from somewhere to the south, but we couldn't pinpoint it. I was hoping maybe Joshua had detected it." "I did detect a powerful teleport signal," offered Joshua, "but was unable to judge much about where it came from." "So we can't just run out and find ol' Sleep?" said The Flip. "'Fraid not," said Nomad. "And the search for him would take some time. We can't go looking for him now, anyway. We are already in the midst of another such search." Meanwhile, aboard the RED 417: "I seem to be getting interference," said Pladgah at the scanner. Verilox came over and looked over his shoulder. "It is very slight," added Pladgah. Verilox pressed some buttons. "I'm not sure this is interference," he said. "It looks like someone else's scanning beams..." "You mean someone else is looking for K-Bear too?" asked Pladgah. He glanced over towards Pla'anuk, at the flight controls. "I hope we an find him first!"